Thursday, December 7, 2023

Jeff's Best of 2023 - #9: boygenius - the record

The three women of boygenius are having a moment, and I'm here for it.

This is a multiple-Grammy contender, has the Taylor Swift seal of approval, has Rolling Stone apparently confusing Lucy Dacus with Julien Baker, and it just a musically superior album than most of what I listened to this year. Where the record ultimately excels is that, while you can probably figure out who was the lead songwriter from track to track if you're a fan of all three members, the songs do not end up being solo showcases with their friends as backups. There's a little bit of magic in this collaboration, and it's great to see everyone getting their due.

The album itself? It's gorgeous singer-songwriter stuff sometimes ("True Blue," "Cool About It"), it's radio-friendly rock ("Not Strong Enough," a favorite track of the year period), or just loud indie rock ("$20," "Satanist"). The band easily shifts between different ideas and concepts throughout and, instead of the album feeling like a collection of songs, still feels like a whole. And while Phoebe Bridgers is the "star" of the three, the fact that this is going to further raise the profile of Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker is icing on the cake.

In the unlikely event you've avoided this album in 2023, rectify that immediately. It's a wonderful listen.

Songs of Note: "True Blue," "Cool About It," "Not Strong Enough," "$20," "Satanist"

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